how to respect without praying

[Minimalist]

they were more their beliefs than his. he was slow mentally

Sounds as if he was a couple of rungs up the ladder from the JWs.

[jackman]

...when they try to feed you zombies to wash down with zombie blood and everyone does that germy hand touchy thing. *gag*

lmfao. yeah, i'm certainly not a cannibal.

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they were more their beliefs than his. he was slow mentally

Sounds as if he was a couple of rungs up the ladder from the JWs.

not so much looking for a compare/contrast, nor a knocking session of my family. slow down on that part for now.

[Voltair]

I think that you could instead of a prayer, as someone else mentioned, stand their quietly. If they ask you to do something ask everyone to have a moment of silence and to remember the good times/things about your uncle. I think min is right on the spot too where if you have to do an extended talk speak about your uncle and leave religion out of the speech.

[bberryhill0]

Prayer is talking to god. If you believe that god is within you then prayer is talking to yourself. Meditation.

The f-bombs and rudeness on this forum are off-putting.

[Cinjin]

A friend of mine died who was barely a christian (which means he was still a pretty cool guy). However, his family, etc. were.

When I went to his funeral, I was really going to show his family respect. Once I paid my respects I got out of there. That way his family knew I gave a damn and I didn't have to submit to Catholic stupidity and make both myself and others feel awkward by not being involved.

I found a private visit to the grave site is a better way for me to say goodbye anyway.

[Sciwoman]

I think that you could instead of a prayer, as someone else mentioned, stand their quietly. If they ask you to do something ask everyone to have a moment of silence and to remember the good times/things about your uncle. I think min is right on the spot too where if you have to do an extended talk speak about your uncle and leave religion out of the speech.

This is probably one of the best things you can do. If one of your religious relatives tries to get you to participate in the religious activities that are probably going to accompany the funeral, just remind them that you are not religious. I wouldn't even use the word atheist around them right now - yes it's just a word, but we all know how much drama some words can conjure up with some people.

My condolences, jackman.

[Shell B]

The f-bombs and rudeness on this forum are off-putting.

You must not get out much.

[Zen Badger]

Admittedly it isn't quite the same thing, but a while back I went for a run with a christian motorcycle club(True!!)
...
So I was respectful to their beliefs. And they in turn respectful of mine.(sorta).

And they were a good group to ride with.

wow, i ride too, but i would certainly NOT ride with religious ones, lol. bikers always seem to be the extreme of whatever they are representing. glad you made it out safe. i'm always respectful of people's beliefs until they cross mine.

Yeah, what do you ride? you can see mine in my sig.

These guys were pretty cool, I'd be happy to go riding with them again.

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Prayer is talking to god. If you believe that god is within you then prayer is talking to yourself. Meditation.

The f-bombs and rudeness on this forum are off-putting.

Then why did you bother to join?

[jackman]

This is probably one of the best things you can do. If one of your religious relatives tries to get you to participate in the religious activities that are probably going to accompany the funeral, just remind them that you are not religious. I wouldn't even use the word atheist around them right now - yes it's just a word, but we all know how much drama some words can conjure up with some people.

My condolences, jackman.

thanks everybody. that is how i handle stuff like that, i just speak when asked, but i never include religion and they know i don't, so they don't even ask for that. they're hoping some day i wake up tho. lol.

thanks sciwoman. u just expressed what i'm dealing with precisely. bringing up the word "atheist" right this second just will do more harm then good to their feelings and this moment is too precious.

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Yeah, what do you ride? you can see mine in my sig.

zen, cool, i ride a victory v92 when i'm riding to shine - but just to beat around town, i take out my old kz750 slightly chopped ratter. i like to be heard before seen. :-)

[Faith No More]

If they really push you on what you believe, just tell them you're agnostic. You'll get the freedom of not having to participate without the demonize you would get from saying you're an atheist.

A bit of a warning though, fundies tend to see people who are undecided on god's existence as potential members.